Cynical Existence - Come Out And Play

Now, when a new project releases more than one EP or Album in a short period, I tend to worry. Fredrik Croona's full-time Solo Project has already made a name for itself, with two relatively enjoyable EP's preceding this major-label debut album.

Interestingly, the label have chosen to release the debut in two formats, the latter of which is a gorgeous limited edition boxset. It also doesn't have any tracks from Alfa-Matrix's earlier digital EP "Ruined Portrait" - a fact which has surprised but also impressed me.

"Come Out and Play" is perhaps punch time for Mr. Croona. It's the first time the project has really got some serious exposure, and it's the release that the project will surely be judged by.

With "A Scar On My Mind", the release starts off quite slowly with a hypnotic synth line, and Fredrik's vocals seem a bit harsher than I recall at times. Also, rather crucially, his vocals are coherent and I can understand them.

"Deception" is second, and for me, a much better track. It has a more memorable main synth line, has a little 8-bit section, and ups the pace enough to leave the listener unsure what to expect later - which in the realm of Dark Electro/Aggrotech/etc is a rare gift these days.

After a re-release of "I'm Broken", "GDI" samples Command + Conquer, making this release actually quite full of Video Game references, and the track is fast and furious - my favourite so far.

"Pick Your Poison" has an enjoyable chorus as well - I'm filtering through the tracks and picking out the most memorable bits - as ok as this release is, there's not one massive club hit that stands out - at least not yet.

A bit further down, "The Sexual Game" is a really good track too, reminding me of AktiveHate's harsher moments.

"Come Out and Play" is exactly as advertised, really - it's a decent Dark Electro album with fun moments, video game references, and enough differences to make the release pretty unique. It isn't groundbreaking at all - in fact, it lacks any huge club hit, but I don't think that's the aim of the project. For someone totally new to actually writing the music, Fredrik's done a sterling job.

The second disc comes with two exclusive original tracks and a heap of remixes - and as it's limited, I suggest exploring them yourself. Apr 17 2013